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March 2012 Archives

The Fayetteville School Board will host the first in a series of zone meetings on Tuesday, April 3 at 6:30 pm in the Butterfield Trail Elementary School cafeteria. The Board voted to hold zone meetings once per quarter as part of their goals.

The purpose of the meetings is to provide an opportunity for conversations between school board members and district patrons. No presentations are planned for the meetings.

"Zone meetings are designed for two way dialog between the school board and patrons without the constraints of the business meeting," said school board president Susan Heil. "They let the board bring information on current topics to share and patrons to bring their thoughts as well."

The second zone meeting will be on Monday, April 9 at Washington Elementary School at 6:30 pm.

Marlon Blackwell, whose architectural firm is one of the three firms working collaboratively on the FHS Transformation project, is a recipient of a 2012 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. He is the first person from Arkansas to receive this honor.

Blackwell is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Arkansas and serves as head of the architecture department in the Fay Jones School of Architecture.

The Washington Elementary School PTO Concert Series will begin its second season on Wednesday, April 18 with a performance by 3 Penny Acre in the Starr Outdoor Classroom (gym in the event of inclement weather).

Gates open at 5:30 pm, music starts at 6:00 pm.

Cost: Donation -- whatever amount you feel like giving to support our music programs.

The following letter was sent to Fayetteville School District staff from Superintendent Vicki Thomas regarding media reports about suspicious test scores:

Dear Fayetteville School District Staff,

As we are gearing up for annual state assessments, an article appeared in the March 25, 2012 edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) reporting that nearly 200 school districts throughout the United States have suspicious test score patterns. The report is based "on an analysis of three reporters and two database specialists who spent five months collecting standardized test scores for 69,000 schools in 14,743 districts in 49 states." The analysis doesn't prove cheating, the newspaper's editors note, but it does "reveal the scores in hundreds of districts followed the same pattern that indicated cheating in multiple schools in Atlanta in 2008 and 2009." There has been some confusion about where our school district fell in the study and how we should interpret the results.

Some Arkansas media outlets are reporting that several Arkansas schools were included in the study. Fayetteville School District is included in the study due to the size of our district and data available, not because there was any evidence that we should be investigated. Upon review of the data, we were pleased to discover and confirm what we already knew - Fayetteville School District had no anomalies and no evidence of impropriety in how we administer assessments. Dr. Sarah McKenzie, Fayetteville School District's Director of Research, Assessment and Accountability, was interviewed by 40/29 TV on March 27 to explain why Fayetteville School District appeared on the list.

I want to assure all of our staff and our community that we take test security and ethical testing procedures as a top priority. All test materials are kept highly secured and all teachers who administer such tests are trained in test security. Any allegations of testing irregularities are thoroughly investigated. If allegations are found to be true, appropriate disciplinary action is taken, up to and including termination of employment.

Our teachers, administrators and support staff work tirelessly to ensure that our students are well prepared to pass a state assessment and ready for their next level of endeavor. State assessment results are one piece of data that is used for diagnostic and prescriptive purposes as we plan for differentiated instruction. Hopefully, this information will help clarify any concerns that may arise from this article.

When you step backstage at the FHS Auditorium and glance at the walls, you can't help but notice the legacy left behind by former graduates. Each spring students proudly list the names of characters and plays in which they have been involved over their years at FHS. Whether as an actor or part of the stage crew, whether as part of a mainstage production or a class one-act play, the memories are the same--a family of students working together to create the magic of theatre. "If this stage could talk--the stories it could tell" is an apt quote for what the FHS auditorium has meant to students, parents and faculty.

The celebration of this legacy will take place on Tuesday, March 27, at 6:00 pm in the FHS Auditorium--the last event before the doors officially close on April 6th. The evening will begin with the highlights of this past year. A slide show will feature photos from You Can't Take It With You, The Barnyard's Got Talent, The Bald Soprano, and The Fifteen Minute Hamlet as well as a tribute to this year's seniors, and awards will be given for the three Best Actors and Best Actresses in this year's mainstage productions, Best Actor and Best Actress and Best Actress from the Drama III/IV Day of One-Acts, Outstanding Performance in the Children's Play, Technical Theatre Awards, and the Outstanding Thespian Award.

After the celebration of this year's success, a short documentary honoring Warren Rosenaur will be shown followed by a tribute of video clips and photos from over 25 years of past productions. The evening will culminate with the start of a new tradition. Seniors will sign a flat with their names and plays in which they have participated, which will then be hung in the new theatre. The new theatre, which is scheduled to be completed by August 2012, is a beautiful facility that will provide wonderful opportunities for next year's drama, band and choir students. Current and former students, parents and faculty are invited to joint the celebration. Parking is available directly across Stone Street from the High School.

Feriba McNair, a former teacher and coach in the Fayetteville Public Schools, a school board member for nineteen years, and the namesake of McNair Middle School, passed away on Thursday, March 15. Mrs. McNair was a 1938 graduate of Fayetteville High School, and she developed the girls golf program at FHS, among her many other accomplishments. She was inducted into the Fayetteville Schools Hall of Honor in 1999.

She will be deeply missed.

Here is her biography from the Fayetteville Schools Hall of Honor Album:

A 1938 graduate of Fayetteville High School, Feriba McNair received her degree in education from the University of Arkansas in 1942 and established the first girls' physical education program at FHS. She also taught science and was cheerleader and pep squad sponsor from 1943-46 and 1953-56.

She was appointed to complete a retiring school board member's term in 1967, becoming the first woman to ever serve on the board. She served six subsequent terms, her last three as president of the school board.

She continued to be active in volunteer civic and charitable work more than seventy years after her graduation from FHS.

The University of Arkansas recently sent teams to the Ivey Business Plan Competition, which was held January 26-28 in Ontario, Canada. Out of fifty applicants, eleven teams were chosen to present their business plans at the competition, with two of the semi-final teams representing the University of Arkansas. Learning DifferentiatED won the grand prize of $20,000.

The CEO of LearningDifferentiatED is Barry James, GED instructor at Fayetteville Adult Education. Click here to see a photo of the winning team.

The company is developing a cloud-based, self-paced GED preparation software program based on their CEO's experience as a GED instructor at the Fayetteville Adult Education Center and the Austin Academy. Their program specifically targets the 50% student retention rate and long waiting lists seen at adult education programs nationwide and aims to streamline the current GED preparation process, reducing preparation time for the student by 25%. Some of the features of their program include personalized study plans, accurate completion dates, as well as motivational coaches for adult learners.

Fayetteville Adult Education serves Washington County with programs In GED Preparation, Basic Skills Improvement, English as a Second Language, College and Career Preparation and Computer Literacy. Over 1,600 adults attend each year.

FPS students participated in the ACTM (Arkansas Council of Teachers of Mathematics) Regional Math Competition on the campus of the University of Arkansas on March 3. Approximately 700 students from 23 schools participated in six different contests. Here are the results for the FPS students:

If you can't make it to Hot Springs for the state championship basketball game tonight between the FHS boys and Little Rock Hall, you can listen to the audio of the game on Cox channel 217, AT&T Uverse channel 99, and streaming from www.fayar.net.

Students and staff members left messages of remembrance on the walls of the FHS Library on March 2, 2012, the last day for the library before it moves to its temporary home during the FHS Transformation. Click here to see a slideshow.

A team from Ramay will be in Tampa, FL on March 8 presenting at the National Association of Secondary School Principals Breaking Ranks K-12 conference. Ramay staff will share both the theories and practices that have allowed students to experience high levels of academic learning and simultaneously, high levels of satisfaction.

Participants will see examples of how staff work together, counselors operate, personalized information from our students is utilized, students and teachers are scheduled for maximized learning and satisfaction, faculty meetings are streamlined to 10 minutes and professional development is ongoing. Ramay has virtually eliminated standardized test preparation and increased passing scores by nearly 40%. Weaving together the 3 strands of learning, collaborative leadership and personalization have created a cord of success for Ramay students.

The Ramay team will include Cindy Caudle, Cean Hevin, Lori Linam, Maridith Gebhart, and Matt Wilson.

The combined team of Ramay/Woodland Junior High won first place in Division II at the Regional competition in the Odyssey of the Mind competition on March 3. The team of 8th graders competed in Weird Science category and obtained the highest score in the state for their long term problem. Click here to see a team photo.

The team will participate in the state competition on March 31st at Mayflower High School district.

The FHS Odyssey of the Mind team won the regional championship held at Siloam Springs High School on March 3. The team's 15 gram balsa wood structure made held 670 lbs. In the spontaneous problem competition the team scored 44 out of 50 points possible to win. Click here to see a team photo.

The FHS team will participate in the state competition on March 31st at Mayflower High School district.

The FHS boys basketball team will play Little Rock Hall in the 2012 7A state championship on Friday, March 9 at 7 pm in Summit Arena in Hot Springs. Let's pack the arena with purple-clad fans and bring home yet another state championship!

Fans not able to make it Hot Springs can listen to the audio of the game on Cox Channel 217, AT&T 99, and streaming from www.fayar.net.

FHS Bulldog basketball fans can listen to the audio from the Bulldogs' state tournament games on Cox Channel 217, AT&T Uverse Channel 99, and streaming from the FPS website. The Bulldogs will play at 8:30 pm tonight (Friday, March 2). If they win, they will play on Saturday, at 7:30 pm, and the audio from that game will also be broadcast.

If the Bulldogs win on Saturday, they will play in the 7A state championship game in Hot Springs on either March 8, 9, or 10. Game times will be announced on Monday, March 5.

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America, associate superintendent John L Colbert and instructional facilitator Kasi Davis performed Dr. Seuss' classic "Green Eggs and Ham" at Asbell Elementary School this morning, much to the delight of the students. Click here to see a slideshow from the performance.